46.3 miles per gallon in the city & 70.6 mpg on the highway

[moshquerade]

picture

Report: Smart cars coming to U.S.
DaimlerChrysler expected to announce plans Tuesday to bring fuel-efficient sub-compact to U.S. market.

Tuesday, June 27, 2006; Posted: 1:46 p.m. EDT (17:46 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- DaimlerChrysler is set to bring the fuel-efficient subcompact Smart car brand to the United States in 2007, according to a published report.

The Detroit News, citing a source familiar with company plans, reported the decision will be announced Tuesday. But a spokeswoman for the Smart brand declined to comment on the report.

"We have not made any decision on a U.S. launch," said Bettina Singhartinger. "You can expect something this week. Until then we do not comment on speculation."

DaimlerChrysler has never made money on the Smart brand, which has been sold in Europe since 1998. The brand is part of DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes-Benz unit.

The two-seater egg-shaped cars get 46.3 miles per gallon in the city to 70.6 mpg on the highway, according to some estimates, although Singhartinger points out that if the brand is brought to the United States, it will be the next generation of the vehicle which is due to be rolled out in Europe in early 2007.

With U.S. gasoline prices near $3 a gallon, and lagging sales of the large SUV's and pickups that DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler unit depends upon, it would appear to be the right time to bring Smart cars to the U.S. market.

But the U.S. market is also becoming flooded with fuel-efficient sub-compact cars right now, with the Toyota Yaris, the Honda Fit and the Nissan Versa all debuting in U.S. showrooms this year. Those models also have the advantage of having their U.S. dealer network in place. It's not clear if the Smart car would be sold in U.S. Mercedes dealerships, in Chrysler and Dodge dealers or a new dealer network.

One reason for the profit problems for the Smart brand is a low selling price at that part of the market. The three Japanese sub-compacts coming to the market sell for between $11,850 and $14,000.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/AUTOS/06/26/smart/index.html

 

[Howard]

I've seen a few up here in Toronto.

 

[DaTT]

nosireebobiwouldnotdriveoneofthose

 

[dj2004]

No thank you, I'll stick with my T/A.

 

[waggy]

sure. long as its safe i would. i don't care what im driving.

 

[Amplifier]

you're expecting me to sell my h2 for that thing?

 

[overst33r]

id love to drive it...and ironically it has a great crash test rating

 

[silverpig]

They're not in the US yet? We've had them here in Vancouver for over a year now. They're all over the place.

 

[The Stigenator]

yes...

i would drive it.. i test drove one .. ZAP cars is importing them i believe, but i also believe their cars are more expensive than teh ones thru MB dealer.. ZAP cant be the only dealer.

 

[NFS4]

Saw 'em all over when I was in Taiwan earlier this month. In the world of Suburbans and big rigs, I say no. Especially considering how people in NC have trouble seeing my 3s Hatch sometimes and are determined to crowd my lane

 

[AbAbber2k]

Rice that sh1t out!

 

[BobDaMenkey]

I've actually seen one when walking to the other part of my college campus. It was for sale Dunno what they were asking for it.

 

[chuckywang]

Already have:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chuckywang/156978840/

 

[SSP]

Originally posted by: Howard
I've seen a few up here in Toronto.

Same here. It just looks weird.

 

[desy]

Nope I'd get a VW diesel instead cause of all the HW driving I do.
If I only drove in the city I'd consider it but then who wants a two door with no storage? and gawd awful tranny and controls?

 

[AmigaMan]

Sure, I'd buy one. It's cheap enough to be able to afford that plus a regular vehicle for other driving. I'd just use it for going to and from work, but for everything else, I'd just use my Tacoma or my wife's Accord. Since most of my driving is work related and work is only a couple minutes away, it'd save wear and tear on my other vehicles. If I had to drive everyday on the highway, I would have safety concerns. But even then, I'd probably get one.

 

[DrPizza]

I'd be happy to drive it...
I wouldn't mind being seen it in.

But, it's wayyyy too small for what I use my vehicles for. Heck, we went shopping this weekend and took out both of the rear seats in the grand caravan before we left.

 

[ElFenix]

when is the ford fiesta coming here?


i know what ford should do with the mercury brand: bring merkur back. now that ford's european line is awesome people here would buy it. just don't f it up the way they did the first time they brought the mondeo here (as the too small contour). that way they could justify the higher prices that ford's european line commands.

 

[notfred]

Considering some of the homebrew things people drive around here anyway, I'm sure they'd be popular in this area.

 

[Akhen]

For a while the only place in the world the actually sold was in Geneva, Switzerland. I am dead serious these things have been out for a long time but quite frankly they suck. You should see one spinning on an icy road its uther hilarity.

 

[jme5343]

You can get them here, but they have to be converted to display MPH instead of KmPH, and stuff like that. I'd drive one From what I've read, you can get panel kits for them and pretty much change colors and all kinds of stuff like that pretty easy.

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: waggy
sure. long as its safe i would. i don't care what im driving.

It's a little safer than a motorcycle

 

[Soccerman06]

Arent the Smarts real popular in Europe?

 

[everman]

How safe is it? IE: if someone in their suv nails me at 40mph am I toast?
I had someone in a sedan bounce off the back end of my truck last year, almost no damage to me (insurance covered) yet their VW looked horrific. A smart car would not have faired well imo, but am I right?

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: everman
How safe is it? IE: if someone in their suv nails me at 40mph am I toast?
I had someone in a sedan bounce off the back end of my truck last year, almost no damage to me (insurance covered) yet their VW looked horrific. A smart car would not have faired well imo, but am I right?

I remember a while back Mercedes posted a very misleading video of a standard Mercedes going head on into a Smart car. The Smart looks to be ok because its body didn't give any while it used the Mercedes' crumple zone. But since the smart didn't give any and it's so much lighter than the Mercedes, I'd be interested in seeing the G-forces sustained in each vehicles. They didn't publish that data, though.

People saw that the smart didn't cave in and they thought it was safe. I can lock you in a solid steel box and drop it off a cliff, too. The box won't cave in, but you'll be smashed on the inside.

I'd like to see what really happens when a Smart collides with a giant SUV.